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Irving Morrell
Irving Morrell started the First Great War as an infantry captain, serving with distinction until he received a leg wound. Even while in the hospital his mind was never idle, conceiving a helmet that would help soldiers survive on the front. After recovering, he continued to serve his country, rapidly making a name for himself as a resourceful and competent officer. He was transferred to the Canadian front after some time. While there, he displayed his talents as a field commander again, using the Canadian military's aggressiveness against them. His victory in that front saw him promoted to lieutenant colonel. Around this time, he moved from infantry to barrels. He transferred to the front again, this time under George Custer on the Tennessee front. He was one of the masterminds behind the Barrel Roll Offensive. The offensive involved a massed attack of barrels, supported by infantry. It was wildly successful, pushing the Confederate forces back miles along a front whose advances were typically measured in feet. The smashing success saw him promoted to colonel, and quickly won the war. Afterwards he transferred into the Barrel Works, the US Army's R&D Department for Barrels. While there, he tested and designed new models of barrels for the US Army, as well as getting married. The Socialist administration elected after the war ended closed down the Barrel Works, however, and he was transferred out to British Colombia to keep the conquered Canadians in line. After nine years of success, he was reinstated in the Barrel Works until General Daniel MacArthur required his services to repress riots in the state of Huston. Morrell did so, even resorting to canister shot to keep the hostile crowds at bay. After a plebiscite returned the state to the Confederacy, he was stationed in Ohio to try and stem the eventual Confederate tide. When the Confederacy attacked, Morrell was sorely undersupplied and underequipped. Regardless, he beat a fighting retreat and managed to both delay and harass the Confederacy enough to make them take notice. In consequence of said skill, the Confederates hired a sniper to kill him. When he survived the blow, the Confederate General Staff went into a mass panic. This proved justified, as Morrell and his plans were instrumental in cutting off the Confederate army assaulting Pittsburgh and throwing them back along their original salient into Ohio. This victory was a turning point in the war, and lead to them cutting the salient in two. After throwing the Confederates out of the United States, he then went on to formulate a plan to invade the Confederacy. He replicated the real world's Sherman's March to the Sea, using armor, air power, and infantry to cut the Confederacy's eastern section in half. After successfully doing so, he coordinated strikes deeper into the Confederate heartland from the General Staff in Philadelphia. He was nearly caught in a nuke, but was outside the blast radius and survived. At the end of the war, now a full General, he was chosen to receive the Confederacy's unconditional surrender and return to the United Staes. Afterwards, he was appointed the military governor of the Confederacy's east coast, essentially everything he had conquered; while there, he was a leading figure in creating racial equality. Battle vs. Welkin Gunther (by Leolab) Prologue “Someone’s head’s going to roll…” Morrell muttered as he watched a small group of soldiers file off of a ship. They had sent him across the pond, as they called it, to help their German allies. Actually getting there had been one fuckup after another; a bureaucratic mixup hadn’t sent him orders to report to the docks until a few hours after he was supposed to be underway, and the ship they bundled him on afterwards had been tossed about by a freak storm. His reflections were interrupted by the Infantry captain leading the troops on the ship with him. “Your orders, General?” “Hmm… best to assume hostile territory. Your company had the captured Stovepipes, right?” “Yes. Storm brought us down to barely platoon strength, though.” Morrell grimaced, and surveyed the area. “Need a damn map…” he muttered, and then looked out at his soldiers. “Split your platoon up into three. Half of your stovepipes and four more soldiers with Lt. Griffiths and the Mk. 2.5, the other half with you plus whatever you need, and the remainder with me.” “Sir,” Captain Rhodes said, stiffly. Morrell sighs, having given the same reaction to his superiors all too often, and condescended to explain. “My Mk. 3 can take out any barrel that’s thrown at it. The Mk. 2.5 was having trouble back home, so I want to be sure that squad can take out armor.” “Sir,” Rhodes said again, this time with respect and slight embarrassment. “Chester!” he yelled, waving a sergeant over while trotting towards his men. Morrell let out a satisfied chuckle, and climbed up his barrel and into the cupola. As he eased himself down, his loader gave him a questioning look, asking for orders. “First order of business is to find a town and liberate ourselves a map” ---- A few days later Welkin Gunther and the members of Squad 7 came to a halt under forested cover overlooking a field, dotted here and there with hills and trees. The war had ended, but the capital had received reports of a few stragglers to mop up. “So what’s this group been up to, Welkin?” Alicia asks, getting her rifle ready. “Raiding. It came out of nowhere and took command by surprise, especially since they don’t seem to have any ragnite.” “No ragnite?” Largo interjects, “Then they won’t have armor. They’ll be sitting ducks.” “Must be why they sent us after them rather than restocking our ragnaid,” Welkin replies, “Now Intel says they’re on the other side of that field. Once they emerge, let’s push them back out of Gallia. Alicia, Rosie, Largo, take six soldiers each. Rosie, you’re with Zaka. Alicia, with me. Largo, between Zaka and I. Squad Seven, move out!” Welkin ducks into his tank as his squad forms up as directed, and they enter the field. Combat Note: Tank Crews are not counted in the tally. Each "tank" is represented by only one "person" slot. Irving Morrell: Welkin Gunther: “Hold your fire…” Morrell says, watching as the Gallian forces come closer to the tree cover his troops are stationed in, “And watch out for the lances. We don’t know what they do yet.” He peers through his field glasses as the Gallian troops in blue advance, unaware of his position. The green-grey his own men wore disguised them, until they were close enough to… “Fire at will!” he yells, and his men obey. The center of his lines opens up first, the sharp report of their Springfields shattering the air. Most of Squad Seven ducks, and the scouts start firing back. It takes them a split second to locate the Americans’ firing position, and that lets one of Morrell’s men shoot a scout just under the throat, mortally wounding him. . A shocktrooper breaks off her advance and scrambles to see if he’s alright, and waves towards the back of the lines. “Miss Medi-” One of Morrell’s men shoots her in the face, cutting off her shout. . As he works the bolt to chamber a new round, however, another scout empties his magazine at him. Four bullets catch him, and he collapses. . A shocktrooper opens fire, spraying her submachine gun in a short arc and killing another American soldier. . Welkin and Zaka both send soldiers to reinforce the center line, and Morrell gives the order to move out as he sees the enemy forces thinning on their flanks. Lt. Don Griffiths commands the Mk. II.V Barrel on Morrell’s right flank, and leads the charge against the Shamrock. His gunner fires at the Gallian light tank, but the round glances off the front plate and flies harmlessly to the side. The Shamrock quickly traverses its turret as Griffiths ducks inside and fires, sending a mortar round towards the barrel. It scores a direct hit on the closed cupola, and the fragments bounce off the armor plating. One hits an American soldier, who starts screaming and tries in vain to recapture his intestines. A burst from a shocktrooper puts him out of his misery. . The shocktrooper ducks back under cover before the barrel’s machine guns can draw a bead on her, and starts to lay down suppressive fire. The other members of Squad Seven on the flank join in, as a lancer takes the opportunity to slip around. “You see a tank, I see fireworks,” she mutters, as she kneels and balances her anti-tank lance on her knee. She braces herself and pulls the trigger, absorbing the recoil as a spring launces the warhead, which then engages the rocket. It slams into and through the weaker side armor of the tank. “I got one!” she exclaims, pumping her fist in victory. Exultation turned to shock as the rocket hits the magazine, igniting all the ammo inside in a massive, fiery roar. . The explosion throws several of Morrell’s men on their backs, and draws attention from the entire battlefield. In the small lull, one of Morrell’s anti-tank men rights himself and fires his stovepipe, hitting the Shamrock in the driver’s compartment. The explosion kills the crew, and sets the tank on fire. . “Gusenerg! Schwimmer!” Chester Martin shouts, waving the two submachine gunners over behind the Mk. II.V’s debris. “What’s up, Sarge?” they ask, “Why’re we back here?” “You haven’t seen a barrel brew, have you?” one of the anti-barrel men jeers, “There’s a small hole here. Take a look.” The two lean in, peering out as the fire in the Gallian tank reaches the magazine. The morbidly cheerful popping as the bullets cook off one by one is punctuated with a wet thud when one of the rounds rips through a shocktrooper’s throat. . “That’s what’s up,” Martin says, “Barrel brews up like that, you duck for cover. Should set off the big guns soon, so sit tight for a bit.” Morrell, commanding the other flank personally, receives word on what the lances can do. He files that away in his mind as he continues the tank duel with the Edelweiss, neither the enemy gunner nor his own able to get a hit in. He’d be standing and looking out of the cupola, but a graze on his cheek from an enemy soldier, wearing a bright red hair cover of all things, had dissuaded him. “Can you put an HE round on the other side of that tank?” he asks his gunner, “I don’t want the infantry there trying anything.” “I can try,” the gunner says, and relays the order to the loader. Morrell takes a look out of the viewports, and spots a Gallian lancer taking aim. “Belay that! Lancer at 3, take her out!” The turret traverses as quickly as it can, and the gunner fires a few fractions of a second after the foe. Luck is on his side, however, and the round hits the lancer’s rocket in midair. The tank crew lets out a whoop, and the spectacle restores some of Morrell’s men’s morale. An infantryman pops out and fires a couple bullets, killing the unlucky lancer. . Another infantryman clambers up the barrel, and Morrell opens a hatch to speak to him. “Can you get us a little closer to the enemy barrel, sir? The boys and I have an idea to deal with the infantry behind it.” “Can do, Corporal,” Morrel says, “Just make sure it works.” He ducks back in and gives orders to his driver as the infantryman rounds up the others. Morrell charges the Edelweiss, machine guns blazing. As soon as they get in range, the two infantrymen throw their grenades, flipping up and over both tanks. The three Gallian soldiers hiding behind it jump out of the way. Alicia lands behind the Edelweiss, but the lancer and shocktrooper lie exposed. “Weinshank! May! Now!” the infantryman yells, and the two soldiers with Thompsons rake their foes with bullets. , . Alicia climbs onto the Edelweiss, which, now lacking infantry support, goes at full speed to reinforce the center column. Welkin fires a mortar round as a parting blow, which hits the Mk. III’s tracks. The fragmentation takes out the soldiers using the barrel for cover, and wrecks the treads. , , , . Welkin quickly loads and fires a smoke round, covering his retreat. Morrell throws the hatch open, and gets out of the barrel to help his crew replace the track. On the opposite flank, a series of loud explosions signals that the last of the Shamrock’s ammo cooked off. Chester counts to five in the lull, loads a fresh clip into his Springfield, and waves his squad over, giving instructions to prepare for the enemy. On the other side, the remaining 3 members of Squad Seven on their left flank creep out of cover. “Looks like they’re gathered behind the remains of their tank,” the scout says, “Are you two thinking what I’m thinking?” “Barious?” the Lancers ask in unison. The scout nods, and the two Lancers fire their rockets at the top of the wreckage. The blast overbalances the chunk of metal, and it starts to tip over. Chester yells at his men to run, but the anti-barrel men don’t make it. , . Chester and his soldiers start firing at the Gallain militia, the higher volume of fire from the Thompsons keeping their foes at bay, until they have to reload. The Scout takes advantage pf the pause and fires a few shots from her rifle, hitting one of the infantrymen in the eye. . Chester, enraged, immediately draws a bead on the scout. He fires, works the bolt, and fires again. The second round rips through her arm, severing the brachial artery. She bleeds out in seconds. . The lancers, seeing their squadmate die, break off a rescue attempt to retreat towards the center column. The soldiers with the Thompsons finish reloading and give chase, Martin following close behind. A burst hits both Lancers, and they go down, bleeding. They reach them, and find one shot in the back of the head. . He was the lucky one. The other was still alive and struggling; the bullets had torn her windpipe, but missed any important blood vessels. She lay gasping and gurgling as Chester approaches, and reaches out a hand. He looks at her and immediately shoots her in the face, crossing himself afterwards . “Jesus…” one of his soldiers mutters, doing the same. “That happens to me, I’d hope the other guy ends it quick.” The other says, looking queasy. “Let’s continue around this way,” Chester says, changing the subject, “If we hit them at the back, it’ll give Captain Rhodes some relief.” A cluster of shots right afterwards makes them hit the dirt, and they try to keep as low a profile as possible as they advance. It doesn’t help, as the next grouping hits Chester in the back, killing him. . Alicia squeezes off another few bursts as she rides on the Edelweiss, forcing Morrell’s reinforcements to keep their heads down. She hit another one as they came closer, and held off firing once bullets starting hitting the tank. . Welkin turned the Edelwiess’ machine gun on the remaining man, and cut him down. . Captain Rhodes leads Morrell’s center column in a fighting retreat, trying to hold out in the woods until their general fixes his barrel. Now outnumbered and with the Edelweiss turning to bear down on them, the Morrell’s soldiers find themselves struggling. Their troubles are only compounded when a grenade explodes nearby, killing two of Rhodes’ men. , . “Wish we had artillery, Captain,” one of the survivors complains, “With Kachellek and Hayer dead, we’re pretty much sitting ducks.” “I wish we… ah. But we do.” “Sir?” “What’s General Morrell call that thing you’re lugging around all the time?” “‘Goddamn man-portable artillery’ I think it was… oh.” “Exactly. They’re nearing the tree line; I’ll provide some cover fire, and you three launch your stovepipes at the enemy. On my fifth shot,” Rhodes says, slapping a new clip into his Springfield. He shoots five shots in an arc, and on cue the anti-barrel rockets fire. They stagger their firing, giving each other time to reload as the rockets explode in a deafening roar, mulching earth and flesh alike. As the explosions fall silent, the entire attacking force had been obliterated, save for Alicia and the Edelweiss. , , , , , , , , . A mortar round from the Edelweiss crashes through the trees, killing the remaining anti-tank men. , , . Rhodes curses, glancing again at the smoke cloud that hid his commander. He curses again; until that clears, it’s all up to him. He waits, using the scattered corpses as cover to bait the Edelweiss into coming for him, and grabs a grenade. As it gets nearer, he ducks around it, unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, however, the Edelweiss’ turret swivels and spots him before he can climb onto it. A burst of machine gun fire cuts him down. . Welkin opens the hatch and scans the battlefield. “This… this is the heaviest fighting we’ve seen,” he says, looking at Alicia. “I know,” she replies, “And what’s worse is, I don’t think these people were with the Empire.” “You’re right,” Welkin says, looking at the man he just killed, “I’ve never seen this uniform before.” “I wonder who they were. Why they fought us. And so… ferociously.” “I guess we’ll never know,” Welkin says, somber, and surveys the field. He turns back to at his sergeant, starting to speak. Blood splatters on him as an armor-piercing shell rips her in half. . He freezes, mouth open in horror. “Two degrees to the left,” Morrell says, and his gunner corrects it as the barrel’s driver charges out of the smoke screen. The barrel fires again, this round ripping through the Edelweiss’ armor and detonating the magazine. . He grunts in satisfaction as the last of his foe burns, and ducks in to talk to his crew. “That was a hard fight,” he says, “And we can count ourselves lucky to be alive. I don’t think, however, that we have enough fuel to get anywhere.” “So what now, sir?” “We abandon the barrel and make our way back to the ship on foot. We need to get this back to the General Staff.” His men comply, piling out and looting the battlefield for weapons and ammo. Expert's Opinion Welkin's weaponry was superior to Morrell's, but his commanding ability was inferior. In battles with large numbers such as this one, commanding ability confers a larger advantage than slightly better weaponry. To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here. Battle vs. Hans von Zettour (by SPARTAN 119) Morrell: 30 infantry, 3 tanks Zettour: 30 infantry, 3 tanks Note: tank crews not counted as individual personnel General Irving Morrell walked back to his staff car, having just finished an infantry platoon that had distinguished themselves in recent fighting. As he stood about 100 meters from the vehicle, the silence was broken by a thunderous roar. The staff car burst into a ball of flames in front of him. The explosion of the staff car was followed by the chattering of machine gun fire. Two US infantrymen were cut down by a hail of gunfire, as, at the same time, the commander of a Mark 2.5 barrel was shot in the head by a sniper. Seeing no better defended position, Morrell climbed up into the barrel. Ducking down into the vehicle, he spoke to the gunner, "Tell the driver to move out, we're pushing these bastards back!". "General?... Shouldn't you be making your way to the rear, Sir", the gunner asked, surprised to see the commander of the entire army corps having just entered his vehicle. "In an open place like this, there's no safer place than a inside a barrel. Now, you have your orders, Sergeant!" "Yes, Sir", the gunner replied, "Patterson, you heard the man, move out!" Morrell: 28 infantry, 3 tanks Zettour: 30 infantry, 3 tanks His mind going back to his time in the Barrel Works, where he commanded a prototype of this very same vehicle he know stood inside, Morrell spoke into the radio, "Platoon, hold position at sunken road. Keep your eyes peeled for hostile armor!" Morrell then switched to the intercom of the barrel, "Driver, get us into a hull down position on the sunken road, as close to the center of the infantry line as possible". As the barrel inched forward, just enough for the turret to be exposed over the top of the sunken road, Morrell peeked up from the top of the turret. Spotting a group of infantry coming out of the edge of a line of trees about 200 meters beyond the sunken road. Morell fired a burst from the machine gun on top of the turret. At least three of the attacking infantry collapsed, though there was no way of knowing if it was from round he fired or one of countless others fired by the barrels and infantry. About 70 meters away, one of the other two barrels of the armored platoon attached to the infantry fired a high explosive shell, blowing away the front a barn that held an enemy machine gun position covering the advance. Morrell: 28 infantry, 3 tanks Zettour: 26 infantry, 3 tanks At the next moment, Morrell spotted a black shape in the distance. Through his binoculars, he spotted the unmistakable outline of an enemy barrel break through the forest and begin advancing across the open field. "Barrel, 12 degrees left, load AP!", Morrell called out, the memories of his time testing barrels between the war coming flooding back. The loader on the barrel slammed a 60mm shell into the breech of the gun as the turret turned to face enemy vehicle. With a shout of "On the way!", the gunner pulled the trigger. The gun fired with thunderous roar and a flash of flame. About 200 meters away, the ballistic-capped round collided with the frontal armor of the enemy vehicle with enough force to punch through. The enemy barrel erupted in flames as the ammunition cooked off. Meanwhile, at the rear area, General Hans von Zettour sat in a command station, listening to the progress of the forward elements of the assault. "Encountering heavy fire!" the voice of the Lieutenant commanding an infantry platoon yelled, "We are pinned down!" A second later, a Panzer commander called out, "Hostile armor, vehicle destroyed! All remaining units are to focus fire on enemy tanks!" At that moment, both of the two Panzer IIIs of the Imperial army opened fire. One of the tanks scored a hit on the rightmost of the three Mark 2.5 Barrels, punching through the turret and setting fire to the vehicle. A couple second later, the tank exploded with enough force to throw the turret into the air. The second Panzer fired at Morrel's tank, but missed, the round throwing up a fountain of soil from the sunken road in front of the vehicle. All the while, infantry on both sides fell left and right as they were cut down by rifle and machine gun fire. Four men fell on Morrell's side, and six on the Imperial side. Back at the forward command post, General Hans von Zettour sighed, "So much for 'little resistance'", Morrell: 25 infantry, 2 tanks Zettour: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Having knocked out the Mark 2.5 barrel, the Panzer III on the right flank fired a HE shell at a machine gun nest, the blast killing the gunner and two additional troops. With the way cleared, Imperial army troops began to advance along the line of trees along the right side of the field. With most of the US troops occupied holding back the Imperial troops advancing from the left and center, the Imperials on the right flank made it within about ten meters of the US lines. Several stick grenades were lobbed into the lines. Most of them fell short, however one landed behind the earth berm that lined the sunken road. Two US troops fled from the imminent explosion, but one did not make it out in time and was killed in the blast. A second was struck in the chest by a stray rifle round as he got up in an attempt to flee the blast radius. Morrell: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Zettour: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Then the Panzer rolled forward, spitting fire at the troops in the sunken road with its co-axial machine gun. About five meters from the sunken road the US troops were using as a trench, the machine gun on the paused for a split second, probably changing a belt. It was at that moment that a US soldier armed with a captured Confederate "Stovepipe" rocket launcher raised above the edge of the sunken road and fired a single rocket. The shaped-charge warhead collided with the lower front plate of the tank, sending a jet of molten copper burning through the armor. The engine of the tank burst into flames. A second after the tank was knocked out, the US troops lobbed several stick grenades, practically identical to those used by the Imperials, which exploded in their midst, killing three of Imperial soldiers. The US troops on the right flank them got up and fired on the attacking Imperials. Two more of them were killed before they fled back into the woods. Morrell: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Zettour: 25 infantry, 1 tanks With the right flank in retreat, things weren't going much better for the Imperial Army on the left. The gun of a Mark 2.5 barrel roared to life yet again, its Imperial counterpart burst into a flash of fire as the armor-piercing round punched through the turret. Soon afterwards, two more Imperial infantry were shot down by machine gun fire as they fled from the burning tank, knowing full well that the ammunition could cook off at any moment. With the enemy barrel neutralized, Morrell ordered the gunner on his vehicle to load HE and fire on a group of retreating Imperial stragglers. One of the Imperial soldiers, who had a large set of tanks on his back, exploded into a ball of fire. The charred, mangled bodies of three Imperials were thrown through the air by the blast. "Must have had a flamethrower", Morrell thought, "Hell of a way to die". For a moment, Morrell remembered stories from the First Great War about some crazy crazy flamethrower operator who torched a Confederate barrel, wondering what happened to him. Morrell: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Zettour: 10 infantry, 0 tanks With the enemy in full retreat, Morrell did not show them any quarter. He ordered the the troops to fire everything they had at the retreating Imperials. Morrell himself fired a few bursts at the fleeing enemy from the machine gun mounted on top of the barrel. Three more unfortunate Imperials were hit by stray bullets before the rest made it to the woods and out of sight. As if to punctuate their defeat, one of the burning Imperial panzers chose that moment to explode in a flash of fire, the flames having reached the ammunition. Morrell: 20 infantry, 2 tanks Zettour: 7 infantry, 0 tanks A few minutes later, it was clear that the assault had been repulsed. Morrell exited the barrel, making his way to the rear, where the radio position was. He needed a new staff car... and a new staff officer, for that matter, not the mention the reinforcements needed to hold the line against the second enemy attack that was sure to come. WINNER: Irving Morrell Expert's Opinion Morrell won this clash of the alternate generals thank in large part to the slightly superior technology, including the heavier gun on his "barrels" and the "Stovepipe" rocket launcher. Morrell also had more experience than Zettour, having fought in two World Wars. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here. Category:Warriors Category:Fictional Warriors Category:Book Warriors Category:North American Warriors Category:US Warriors Category:Human Warriors Category:Modern Warriors Category:Alternate History Warriors